With the employers refusing to reopen negotiations since members overwhelmingly rejected the pay offer, both UNISON and Unite are moving ahead to an industrial action ballot.
The only prospect of an improved offer on pay, standby/on-call, equality pay gaps, leave and pay for new parents or a reduced working week is to return huge YES votes in these ballots.
Industrial action ballots have to be postal. Ballot papers will be posted out to Unite members on Thursday 24 October and to UNISON members on Friday 25 October. Members should look out for envelopes like these.
If you aren’t yet a member, please join and give your reps your membership number and postcode so they can request a ballot paper for you. The ballots close on Thursday 14 November (Unite) and Friday 15 November (UNISON).
To be valid under the anti-union legislation, the ballots require an extremely high turnout so it is important every member votes. The best thing is to vote as soon as you receive your ballot paper.
Members of both unions have been invited to lunchtime webinars on Thursday 24 October and Tuesday 5 November. These will be joint with our colleagues at West Midlands Combined Authority and West Yorkshire Combined Authority who are also balloting. There are Frequently Asked Questions documents about the ballot for UNISON and Unite members.
When they should be getting round the table to resolve the dispute, senior management seem focused on misleading staff:
- There have been no pay negotiations since July (see the timeline).
- HR cancelled a regular meeting with the unions. One of the items reps had put on the agenda was seeking clarification about reports that senior management are discussing requiring staff to attend workplace at least three days a week.
- There is no requirement to delay our pay rise until Local Government pay is settled, or to link our offer to theirs. These are choices by senior management.
The higher the participation in the ballot and any action, the better the chances of a good settlement. Only union members can vote in industrial action ballots and decide what action to take. Only members receive strike pay if it comes to that. Only members will decide when an offer is acceptable. If you aren’t yet a member, it’s time to join now. If you are a member, please talk to colleagues about the campaign and encourage them to join and get involved.